Laois swimmer Nicole Turner carried the Irish flag into the stadium.
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Egypt’s medal-winning champions from the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics have chose to boycott the country’s satellite TV channels due to their failure to broadcast their competitions and a general lack of interest in their achievements.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko congratulated and thanked members of the Ukrainian Paralympics team for their achievements during the games.
Fireworks lit up a packed Maracana Stadium, while singers and dancers created a carnival atmosphere, before tributes were paid to Iranian cyclist Bahman Golbarnezhad, who died at the Rio games just a day ago.
Golbarnezhad was the first athlete to die during a Paralympic competition, the International Paralympic Committee said, after a crash in Saturday’s men’s C4/C5 road race.
The closing ceremony on is addressed by Sir Philip Craven, President of the International Paralympics Committee.
More than 7,000 professionals from more than 70 different countries worked for OBS during the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Organisers said they had pulled off an against the odds success with the Rio Games.
As Craven declared the Games over – with Tokyo now taking up the baton for 2020 – he said Brazil had passed a hard test.
The big country missing in the top section of the standings, however, was Russian Federation, which during the London Games won 102 medals, including 36 golds.
Nuzman’s proclamation signaled a far cry from where things stood just several weeks earlier when Paralympic officials were fearing the event’s very existence due to lack of ticket sales.
He announced that he will award the people of Rio and Brazil its last “medal” tomorrow – the Paralympic Order, which is the highest honour bestowed by the Paralympic movement.
Team GB’s brilliant second place in the medal table saw Team GB become the first nation ever to win more medals in a Games immediately after hosting, with the haul of 67 at Rio 2016 following the 65 won at London 2012.
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Firth was joined by Dame Sarah Storey, Hannah Cockcroft and equestrian competitors Natasha Baker and Sophie Christiansen in clinching three titles as Britain finished second in the medals table with 64 gold.
